Barrio Logan- Just a few blocks from Chicano Park and only minutes from downtown is an empty lot on National avenue and Sigsbee street that will be the future home to San Diego’s new Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.
According to an article from late July on San Diego Eater, the restaurant could be opening later this year. Hopefully this is true, however, considering how much construction needs to be done, a speedy opening could be a long shot. Roscoe’s was contacted to confirm this opening date although they have yet to give any specifics. The 4,000 square foot lot currently looks abandoned, with a larger building connected to an empty liquor store and a few small houses adjacent to it. Construction equipment was spotted there last Sunday, and it appeared that some of the smaller surrounding buildings were already in the process of being demolished. The smaller structures will be cleared out for a parking lot, and the rest will be used for the actual restaurant.
A typical dish at Roscoe’s consists of your choice of white or dark meat chicken prepared southern style or smothered in gravy and onions, along with two waffles. Besides just fried chicken and waffles, other popular menu items include chicken chili, grits, mac and cheese, cornbread, rice, and many others.
For those unfamiliar with the soul food chain, Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles opened in 1975 by company founder Herb Hudson, with the first location on North Gower Street in Hollywood, which is still open today. Forty one years and seven locations later, the restaurant has established itself as the place to get chicken and waffles in the Los Angeles area. Roscoe’s has appeared on several television networks like CNN and Travel Channel, mentioned in movies such as “Jackie Brown” and “Rush Hour,” and was even visited by President Barack Obama in 2011.
The announcement of the upcoming San Diego location might come as a surprise to some, considering Roscoe’s parent company, East Coast Foods, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in March. As reported by CNN Money, the amount indebted is somewhere between 10 and 50 million dollars, including 3.2 million dollars owed to Daniel Beasley, a former Roscoe’s employee who successfully sued the company recently. As the reason for the lawsuit, Beasley cited racial discrimination and harassment as well as sexual harassment.
Other current Roscoe’s locations include Long Beach, Pasadena, two within Los Angeles, one in Inglewood, and most recently one in Anaheim only two and a half miles away from Disneyland.
